Nigeria to pay N41. 31billion as penalty for failure to repay Chinese loan

GREENBARGE REPORTERS 

Nigeria is to pay N41.31 Billion as penalty for failure to service its debt to China to the tune of N110.31 billion in the last two years.

According to report by the Debt Management Office (DMO), the China debt stock included the principal and repayment charges.

DMO said that from January 2021 to December 2022, the principal fee stood at N69, 009,417,500 ($153.85million), while the interest charges amounted to the sum of N41, 311,455,000 ($92.1million).

The debts were incurred for the completion of the Nigeria Railway Modernisation Project (Idu-Kaduna Section), the Nigeria Railway Modernisation Project (Lagos-Ibadan Section) and the Nigeria Abuja Light Rail Project.

A breakdown of the data showed that in 2021, Idu-Kaduna Section’s principal fee was $ 38.46 million (N17.25bn) while interest earmarked is $ 9.5 million (N4.26bn).

The Lagos-Ibadan Section’s principal was not noted, but the interest stood at $ 24.07 million (N10.80bn).

During the period, the Abuja Light Rail Project had its principal fee at $ 38.46 million (N17.25bn), while the interest rate accumulated to $11.45…